Tesla Model 3 Will Debut March 31

Automaker expects to be profitable this year.

Tesla will debut the Model 3 sedan on March 31 and plans to begin production and deliveries of the car in late 2017, the automaker confirmed today during a conference call. It also expects to be profitable for the full year.

We've heard before that the Tesla Model 3 will likely come with a price tag of around $35,000 before tax credits. As the automaker's upcoming entry-level model, it should be about 20 percent lighter than the Model S. Earlier, we reported on rumors that Tesla would only partially unveil the Model 3 in March. CEO Elon Musk said the company is still deciding how to handle the reveal and whether to "show all the cards" next month or save some information about the car for later.

It will be interesting to see if the Model 3 will stay on track or be delayed like the Model X. On the conference call, Musk said Tesla's mistake was putting too many new technologies all at once into one product rather than rolling out new features over time. Although he calls it the "best car ever," he also said "I'm not sure Tesla would make a car like this again." But the company has high expectations for the model, and said peak production of the SUV should hit around 1,000 units per week during the second quarter of this year. That's well above the modest 206 Model X vehicles delivered during all of last quarter.

Despite a loss in earnings in the last quarter of 2015, Tesla says it is on track to become net-cash-flow-positive beginning in March and for the rest of 2016 with ABL. It also plans to be profitable for the full year. To help achieve these goals, Tesla plans to deliver between 80,000 and 90,000 new Model S and X vehicles this year. That's a pretty substantial boost, considering just over 107,000 Tesla vehicles are currently on the road in 42 countries today.